If you have been shopping for hardwood flooring you may have discovered there are an overwhelming amount of variables. There are a lot of questions you will need to consider to find the right wood options for your home and family.
A very common question when it comes to hardwood flooring is why the board lengths matter. Many homeowners think once the flooring is installed that they won’t notice the board lengths anymore. Ultimately, this is not true. When installing a site finished wood the board lengths may be less noticeable after installation but they are still there and can affect the visual flow of the room. On a prefinished or engineered wood product the board lengths are even more noticeable because of the bevels.
Long length boards are a great way to make a space feel larger. The visual interest is drawn across the long boards which makes a room feel larger and more open. This design technique works well in small spaces and large spaces alike. It can really transform a small space but this technique is not lost on large rooms. Large rooms also benefit greatly from long boards too to make them feel airy and open while adding a punch of wow factor.
When looking at wood products you will also want to look for varied lengths. While we are discussing long planks it is still important to add some visual interest to the floor with varied lengths. Wood is a natural substance and to keep it looking natural it is important that each plank is not uniform. When you see a floor with uniform planks it often looks fake, regardless of what material it is made of. The patterned choppy look of one length planks is not what most people are looking for when installing new hardwood.
If you are looking into a wide plank floor you will definitely need to look for long planks. As the planks get wider they can look shorter and cause your eye to get caught up on the junctions rather than giving the room the wide airy feeling you are striving for. The choppy look looks very unnatural and can take away from the beauty of a 10″ solid white oak floor. If the lengths are not provide on the box or informational packets you will want to ask the salesperson. They may even be able to get a box of flooring out for you to let you get a good idea of the way the planks will look in your home.
In the end the plank length can have a big impact on the overall look of your home and floor. Don’t let a pushy salesperson convince you it doesn’t matter.